The present invention is concerned with muzzle loading firearms such as percussion cap or flintlock muzzle loading rifles and pistols. While such firearms are and have been for some time technologically obsolete, they are nonetheless still manufactured. Collectors and enthusiasts of such firearms, such as historical societies, collect, maintain, and fire such firearms.
Naturally, the basic construction of muzzle loading firearms has long been known. U.S. Pat. No. 15,292 shows a breech plug threadibly engaged in the barrel with a nipple having a tube communicating with the powder charge within the bore. A similar construction is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 36,464.
One problem with this classic construction is that firing of the powder charge to propel the projectile from the barrel generates firing forces which act against the bolster and bias it in a direction tending to displace the bolster out of the aperture in which it is threaded. The firing forces similarly act against the breech plug and bias it in a direction tending to displace the breech plug rearwardly out of the barrel. Only the threaded engagement of, respectively, the breech plug and bolster resist the displacement action on the firing forces. Proper functioning of the firearm and the safety of the person firing it are endangered as the threads engaging the breech plug and bolster wear and/or weaken with age and repeated firings.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a novel muzzle loading firearm which overcomes the foregoing problem.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a novel bolster design in which firing forces acting on the bolster are precluded from biasing the bolster outwardly of the aperture in which it is mounted on the barrel.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a novel bolster design in which said bolster is mounted in said barrel in a manner which shields the breech plug from firing forces tending to displace the breech plug rearwardly out of the barrel.